Farewell, March

It’s been a hell of a ride, and April and May are going to bring even more challenges. The silver lining–albeit a very thin sliver of silver–is that now that we have a shelter-in-place order here, there’s no more wondering what we can do. We’ve been quarantining since March 14, but now everyone else is too and it makes things more straightforward. This marks the end of my daily posts, but I will be updating here much more frequently than I did in 2019. Providing some fresh content is one of the small things I can do right now. Here are a few last things that might help your quarantine:

*If you’re having trouble getting paper products–paper towels and toilet paper are pretty scarce around here–read up a little on zero waste practices. Using rags for paper towels and a bidet bottle instead of toilet paper can help cut down a lot on how much of those things you actually need.

*We’re vegetarian now, but this recipe does not lie–it really IS the best roast chicken of all time. I even expanded it to be the method I roast the Thanksgiving turkey and it was the best turkey I ever made. Superb.

*M. C. Beaton recently passed, and she will be sorely missed. She was the creator of the wildly popular Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth mysteries, but she also wrote some truly charming romances. Like her mysteries, they are short, well-characterized reads with a dash of intrigue. Perfectly comforting.

*There’s never been a better time to think about starting a meditation practice. I’ve already recommended Neo; some of y’all love Calm. Here’s a site on Zen habits to get you started.

*Congratulations to Lynn Greiner and Becki Chambers, our winners of A MURDEROUS RELATION! Much love and many thanks to all of you for your suggestions and links. You are the BEST!